The baker's daughter from around the corner was quite a looker
She was the sex bomb of the neighborhood and was called Josefien
I was still young, head over heels I wrote her a sonnet
But she wasn't that poetic, she left with
A gentleman who traded in textile1
And his automobile
Oh Josefien, Josefien, Josefien
I was only seventeen
When I saw you Josefien, Josefien, Josefien
For the first time
My mother thought you were a trollop
And perhaps Josefien, Josefien she was right
But you caught me of guard
And more importantly, the neighborhood resembled Paris
When you walked by, oh Josefien.
But the gentleman who traded in textile turned out to be not that interesting
She knew deep in her heart that there was more in store for her
She bought a ticket to Paris and a naked dress
And pretty soon had ten rich gents to choose from
She chose a millionaire
Who was eighty-five years
Oh Josefien, Josefien, Josefien
That was a pretty smart move
You were in mourning pretty soon
Together with round and about ten million of your new friends
My mother thought you were a trollop
But you had a good head on your shoulders
You showed that from time to time
And all the gentlemen would fall for you
Can you imagine, oh Josefien
I recently saw a enormous yacht in St. Tropez
A chauffeur parked a very large limousine in front of it
I saw how the crew stood in attention when you
exited the limousine, Josefien, together with a bloke with very long hair
I said: Hello Josefien
Do you remember me
And then you said, Josefien Josefien
I have seen you before
Voila, bien sur, it is you Wim, it is you Wim
But you are no longer seventeen
Your mother thought I was a trollop
And entre nous mon petit, that I am
But I rather be a trollop in St. Tropez
Then a slut in Zandvoort aan Zee2
A little bit of thinking doesn't hurt anyone,
Otherwise I would still be walking in the Kalverstraat3
Please say hello from Josefien
1. In the Netherlands wealthy textile manufacturers were called "textielbaronnen", barons of textile, and the word "heer", gentleman, refers to this nickname.2. coastal town in The Netherlands.3. Large shopping street in Amsterdam.